Unless you live in a hole or just returned to Earth from an alien abduction, you already know that the Senate moved forward with the Senate Democrat plan for government-run health care. The question is why are the Democrats hell-bent on passing so-called health care reform with a takeover of the entire industry with over a trillion dollars in tax payer money in the first 10 years alone? Is it because they want to create a whole new entitlement program that reaches into infinity or about real reform? It can’t be both, otherwise their plan wouldn’t be so focused on government-run health care and using tax payer dollars to pay for it, including abortion.

Seems every year there is a shortage of flu vaccine. It’s no different this year with the swine flu (H1N1) making the rounds and people finding themselves unable to get the vaccine. There’s a reason for this, and we’ll get to that in a moment. Before we do, we have to note that the Senate voted last night to move forward with their version of the government-run health care bill. One particularly troubling provision within the bill, and highlighted by Republicans in yesterday’s debate, is a tax on vaccine manufacturers that produce swine flu vaccine.

On Thursday I noted Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) was bribed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with a $100 million Medicaid subsidy in tax payer money for Louisiana in exchange for her vote on government-run health care.

Well, I will admit when I’m wrong. I was wrong, I was off by $200 million. My apologies to Mary and Harry. Turns out Landrieu was bribed with $300 million in exchange for her vote and she’s not “defensive about it. In fact, she seems proud.

Back-scratching is a time honored tradition in Washington, D.C., but there’s something more unseemly going on in the Democrat-controlled Senate over government-controlled health care.

According to Robert Travis Scott of The Times-Picayune, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) will host a fundraiser next month for embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Nothing to see here, just move along, right?

No, this cash-bash for Reid’s campaign coffers comes after Reid bribed Landrieu with a $100 million Medicaid subsidy in tax payer money for Louisiana in exchange for her vote on government-run health care.

Business as usual? Maybe, but maintaining the status quo on this kind of behavior isn’t the kind of “change we can believe in” that President Barack Obama and Democrats promised, is it?

Is it bribery when an elected official inserts language into a bill giving another elected official $100 million dollars for their state in exchange for their vote on a piece of legislation? And what if the money used to do the bribing comes from the tax payers?

That’s what’s going on in the Senate right now. ABC News’ Jonathan Karl is reporting on The Note that Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) inserted a $100 million Medicaid subsidy for Louisiana in order to win Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) vote on government-run health care.

Okay, not really, but the way Democrats are peddling Big Government solutions, maybe it should. While we don’t do a lot of opining here, we are compelled to chime in once in a while.

As you know, Democrats, specifically liberal Democrats, are pushing a takeover of the health care industry. They have a lot of reasons why government-run health care is necessary. When President Bill Clinton made his famous speech before both Chambers of Congress to push HillaryCare in 1993, it was about making sure everyone had health coverage. There was no mention of bending the curve on out-of-control spending, deficit reduction, or job creation.

With President Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid, it’s also about coverage, but it’s also about cutting costs, reducing the deficit, creating jobs and on and on. You see, the justifications change, but the ultimate goal does not: creating a new entitlement.

Ah, talking points. Words used to create a favorable narrative. Chris Frates over at Politico gives a run-down on what the Democrats are claiming from Senator Harry Reid’s (D-NV) government-run health care bill, cobbled together from the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees. All of the talking points deserve attention, but two in particular stand out.